We bought a building!
Donation protected
Hello!
Some of you may have already heard - but I have an exciting & urgent request.
The Ivy School has found a new home !
It’s clear that this is the perfect place and the perfect time for our community to come together under one roof to learn, grow and THRIVE.
But before that can happen, we need to enlist your help!
Between TODAY and JULY 26th, we need to raise $500,000.
So, I am humbly requesting everyone I know to please buy each of my children the equivalent of a scone to help fund the purchase of the new Ivy School building.
I have over 1,000 friends & family here & across social networks. At $7 for two scones, that's $7000! Easy.
Wait a minute, why am I asking you for money, and all in a hurry?
Most of you know that Stella attends a public Montessori school called The Ivy School, & Maddi will attend next year. You also know how important this school is to us.
We are so thankful to be a part of the ONLY public Montessori school in all of Portland where equity, community, & peace education are alive & well! Most kids do not even have a shot at Montessori education because it is private & costly. Ivy makes it possible for ALL kids in our community to have a chance at this wonderful education - no matter your background. The diversity & experiences our children have access to because of this unique curriculum & school are a blessing we are grateful for every day. Kids are so happy there - and it shows!
But we need your help to grow! & the opportunity is NOW>
Even though both our children will be at the same school next year, they would attend school on campuses that are 40 blocks apart. This creates many logistical issues & stressful demands on families with children at both campuses. It is also incredibly wasteful. Instead of being able to buy one bottle of half and half, we have to buy two. Instead of having one front desk person, we have two, instead of paying one building power bill, we pay two, etc etc.... you get the idea.
There just wasn't enough room in the building that was purchased 10 years ago to house all the children who wanted to have access to a public Montessori education, & the school has grown so much! So Ivy rented space from a church for the Upper Elementary where students have nurtured & grown an amazing Victory garden through our Garden Program and go to recess at the local park. They have made the most of a less than ideal situation.
Ivy has been DREAMING of the day when we would all be under one roof.
......& that time has finally come!
We have an accepted offer on a school as of two weeks ago! We are in Escrow!
>>>>if you like you can skip this whole GoFundMe campaign and send money to me directly through Venmo or Paypal. My personal paypal email is [email redacted] and my Venmo handle is @Heather-McGarry-2. You may also donate directly to the Ivy School Cash Campaign by visiting the website: https://www.theivyschool.org/<<<<
•For friends and family who would like to give a little more for these lovely little humans' education, a $22 donation to our Capital Campaign Cash Drive will get you a sweet photograph of Stella and Maddi every month for a year.
•If $55 is the the right price for you, Stella & Maddi will make you an original sweet piece of art & send you a Video voicemail message thanking you personally! Super cute!
•For the price of a $102 donation, Maddi and Stella will create an original piece of artwork for you + a photograph of Stella & Maddi every month for a year. :)
•For people who can help us with a $128 donation, Maddi & Stella will create an original piece of artwork for you & we will also frame it.
•For friends and family who would like to make a one-time $155 donation to this Cash Drive, I will send you a photograph of Maddi and Stella every month and I will include an update on what they're doing, for a year, in addition to an original piece of framed artwork.
•If you would like to make a lasting legacy contribution of $505 or more, Maddi & Stella would like to create very special painting(s) for you, on canvas with mixed media. We would also donate two nights at one of our vacation rental cottages in Portland - a $300 value - subject to available dates -including all fees & cleaning. We have three listings. Please visit the site & make sure your dates are available & then contact me directly to book.
Blue Door Loft https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11991275?preview_for_ml=true&guests=1&adults=1&sl_alternate_dates_exclusion=true&source_impression_id=p3_1558731700_7JBH%2Bpx6kNs2h5L8
Lemon Door Loft https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/15040785?preview_for_ml=true&guests=1&adults=1&sl_alternate_dates_exclusion=true&source_impression_id=p3_1558731757_PgUIopclpTXRN%2FOK
Piedmont Cottage https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/115681?preview_for_ml=true&guests=1&adults=1&sl_alternate_dates_exclusion=true&source_impression_id=p3_1558731812_qxz22eKhtAspIu%2FN
•For family members, members of the community or philanthropists who would like to make a donation in the $1000+ range & up: we have a few rooms that we will be naming and we will also have a Donor Wall where your name can be inscribed for the life of the new Ivy School!
•We need big donors too - so who do you know? Or are you that person?
ALL OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS WILL BE TAX DEDUCTIBLE AS IVY SCHOOL IS A 501C(3) EIN is 20-4681686
If you find you cannot contribute at this time, please, please share this with your network & thank you so much ! Every little bit helps.
Our Board Treasurer, who is part of one of the founding families at Ivy, said that they have been looking at properties to unite the campuses for years and this is the best building they have found in a decade of searching. This building will house all of the 1st through 8th grade students and has room for us to expand and offer a Children's House in the near future so that we can offer kindergarten; this will lead to a more equitable system over time.
It will also have: A library! A gymnasium! An art space! A rooftop garden so the children can keep growing vegetables! A full, industrial kitchen where we may be able to create our own school lunch program.
We can expand in so many ways, now. But of course, this move comes with a high price tag: $5 Million. Everyone is being priced out of Portland, and our school will be no different if we don't secure this building now. Luckily, we have some equity in the building we bought ten years ago. And there is room to expand our enrollment to help cover costs.
BUT, we need to meet a very big fundraising goal of $500,000 raised by our parent community in the next 30 days. This is no small feat. But the thing is, I KNOW we can do it.
That's why I'm just asking for a scone for each of my kids. Because I have 1000+ friends, and many family members. So if each of you could see it in your hearts to buy Stella & Maddi the equivalent of a sweet treat, an entire generation of children will be eternally grateful.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Heather McGarry
Some of you may have already heard - but I have an exciting & urgent request.
The Ivy School has found a new home !
It’s clear that this is the perfect place and the perfect time for our community to come together under one roof to learn, grow and THRIVE.
But before that can happen, we need to enlist your help!
Between TODAY and JULY 26th, we need to raise $500,000.
So, I am humbly requesting everyone I know to please buy each of my children the equivalent of a scone to help fund the purchase of the new Ivy School building.
I have over 1,000 friends & family here & across social networks. At $7 for two scones, that's $7000! Easy.
Wait a minute, why am I asking you for money, and all in a hurry?
Most of you know that Stella attends a public Montessori school called The Ivy School, & Maddi will attend next year. You also know how important this school is to us.
We are so thankful to be a part of the ONLY public Montessori school in all of Portland where equity, community, & peace education are alive & well! Most kids do not even have a shot at Montessori education because it is private & costly. Ivy makes it possible for ALL kids in our community to have a chance at this wonderful education - no matter your background. The diversity & experiences our children have access to because of this unique curriculum & school are a blessing we are grateful for every day. Kids are so happy there - and it shows!
But we need your help to grow! & the opportunity is NOW>
Even though both our children will be at the same school next year, they would attend school on campuses that are 40 blocks apart. This creates many logistical issues & stressful demands on families with children at both campuses. It is also incredibly wasteful. Instead of being able to buy one bottle of half and half, we have to buy two. Instead of having one front desk person, we have two, instead of paying one building power bill, we pay two, etc etc.... you get the idea.
There just wasn't enough room in the building that was purchased 10 years ago to house all the children who wanted to have access to a public Montessori education, & the school has grown so much! So Ivy rented space from a church for the Upper Elementary where students have nurtured & grown an amazing Victory garden through our Garden Program and go to recess at the local park. They have made the most of a less than ideal situation.
Ivy has been DREAMING of the day when we would all be under one roof.
......& that time has finally come!
We have an accepted offer on a school as of two weeks ago! We are in Escrow!
>>>>if you like you can skip this whole GoFundMe campaign and send money to me directly through Venmo or Paypal. My personal paypal email is [email redacted] and my Venmo handle is @Heather-McGarry-2. You may also donate directly to the Ivy School Cash Campaign by visiting the website: https://www.theivyschool.org/<<<<
•For friends and family who would like to give a little more for these lovely little humans' education, a $22 donation to our Capital Campaign Cash Drive will get you a sweet photograph of Stella and Maddi every month for a year.
•If $55 is the the right price for you, Stella & Maddi will make you an original sweet piece of art & send you a Video voicemail message thanking you personally! Super cute!
•For the price of a $102 donation, Maddi and Stella will create an original piece of artwork for you + a photograph of Stella & Maddi every month for a year. :)
•For people who can help us with a $128 donation, Maddi & Stella will create an original piece of artwork for you & we will also frame it.
•For friends and family who would like to make a one-time $155 donation to this Cash Drive, I will send you a photograph of Maddi and Stella every month and I will include an update on what they're doing, for a year, in addition to an original piece of framed artwork.
•If you would like to make a lasting legacy contribution of $505 or more, Maddi & Stella would like to create very special painting(s) for you, on canvas with mixed media. We would also donate two nights at one of our vacation rental cottages in Portland - a $300 value - subject to available dates -including all fees & cleaning. We have three listings. Please visit the site & make sure your dates are available & then contact me directly to book.
Blue Door Loft https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11991275?preview_for_ml=true&guests=1&adults=1&sl_alternate_dates_exclusion=true&source_impression_id=p3_1558731700_7JBH%2Bpx6kNs2h5L8
Lemon Door Loft https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/15040785?preview_for_ml=true&guests=1&adults=1&sl_alternate_dates_exclusion=true&source_impression_id=p3_1558731757_PgUIopclpTXRN%2FOK
Piedmont Cottage https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/115681?preview_for_ml=true&guests=1&adults=1&sl_alternate_dates_exclusion=true&source_impression_id=p3_1558731812_qxz22eKhtAspIu%2FN
•For family members, members of the community or philanthropists who would like to make a donation in the $1000+ range & up: we have a few rooms that we will be naming and we will also have a Donor Wall where your name can be inscribed for the life of the new Ivy School!
•We need big donors too - so who do you know? Or are you that person?
ALL OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS WILL BE TAX DEDUCTIBLE AS IVY SCHOOL IS A 501C(3) EIN is 20-4681686
If you find you cannot contribute at this time, please, please share this with your network & thank you so much ! Every little bit helps.
Our Board Treasurer, who is part of one of the founding families at Ivy, said that they have been looking at properties to unite the campuses for years and this is the best building they have found in a decade of searching. This building will house all of the 1st through 8th grade students and has room for us to expand and offer a Children's House in the near future so that we can offer kindergarten; this will lead to a more equitable system over time.
It will also have: A library! A gymnasium! An art space! A rooftop garden so the children can keep growing vegetables! A full, industrial kitchen where we may be able to create our own school lunch program.
We can expand in so many ways, now. But of course, this move comes with a high price tag: $5 Million. Everyone is being priced out of Portland, and our school will be no different if we don't secure this building now. Luckily, we have some equity in the building we bought ten years ago. And there is room to expand our enrollment to help cover costs.
BUT, we need to meet a very big fundraising goal of $500,000 raised by our parent community in the next 30 days. This is no small feat. But the thing is, I KNOW we can do it.
That's why I'm just asking for a scone for each of my kids. Because I have 1000+ friends, and many family members. So if each of you could see it in your hearts to buy Stella & Maddi the equivalent of a sweet treat, an entire generation of children will be eternally grateful.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Heather McGarry
Fundraising team: The Ivy School (3)
Heather B McGarry
Organizer
Portland, OR
Ana Helena
Team member
Jessamyn Johns
Team member
